140 Chapter 140
◎ I don't know what happened to the child's father, but he went to the southern border without looking back.◎
"Xie Qi was worried about the princess being alone, so he asked me to find a few women with strong martial arts skills in the martial arts world to protect the princess until she arrives in the southern border."
Xu Qinghe sneered at that time: "If you want to break up, you should do it completely and thoroughly. Why would he bother to provoke me?"
The young man in front of him touched his nose and finally told the truth: "Well, this was not his order, I acted on my own initiative. He only told me to find someone to protect the princess, but it was I who insisted on bringing them to the princess. Princess, my brother really has his reasons..."
"No need to say more."
Xu Qinghe interrupted him, "Please take the person back. There's no need to send someone to secretly protect me, lest you waste your energy. If I find out later that someone is secretly protecting me, don't blame me for being rude."
Fu Zongying sighed heavily: "Okay, then I will tell him what the princess means."
He paused, then continued, "Princess, is there anything else you want me to tell him?"
Xu Qinghe lowered his eyelashes and said, "No."
Everything that needed to be said had been said that day.
But it must be said that this incident really reminded her.
For her, having a few men whose indentures are held in her hands to protect her is certainly advantageous, but at the same time, there are naturally some disadvantages that are difficult to express. It would be better to find some maids who know martial arts to accompany her.
Her own mother, the Consort, and Sister Yueying of the Southern Territory Shen Family were both female generals. Their martial arts skills were superb and looked no worse than those of men. With such women by her side, she felt more at ease.
Later, she searched around the capital and actually found a few female servants with clean family backgrounds, no ties, and strong martial arts skills. She bought these servants, kept their indentures, and asked Lin Xiao to bring them and the people who wanted to live in the countryside to Xiaonanjing to rent a house in advance.
With this arrangement, if anyone entered the front yard, or if Yang Ye behaved dishonestly, they would be immediately subdued by the men. If anyone set their sights on the backyard, they would first have to pass through the backyard where the servants lived. Even if they did, there would still be five or six female servants skilled in martial arts guarding them.
"Since Madam is worried about Mr. Yang, why bother looking for him to pretend to be a couple with Madam? It would be better for him to take us alone and feel at ease."
When Lin Xiao was young, Meng Chen had forced her to study, but she had little interest in it, often giving it a half-hearted effort. So, although she could read, she had no experience with poetry, let alone painting.
Now she was standing by, serving her mistress with pen and ink. She saw her mistress scribbling on the white paper, but she couldn't understand what she was drawing. However, she couldn't sit still, so she racked her brains to find something to say.
Xu Qinghe was painting the early summer lotus in a pond. In the slightly rippling water stood a few pink lotus flowers, their tips just showing and about to bloom, with two dragonflies hovering overhead, about to land.
She replied, "With Yang Ye, I only need to be on guard against him. But if there's no decent husband at home, we'll be in this small town where we don't know anyone, and there will be many more people to be on guard against."
Lin Xiao shook his head, disagreeing: "Lin Xiao has traveled to many places and can truly feel that the people in this town are very kind. Yesterday, Aunt Mo next door even sent us some fish she had caught herself."
Lin Xiao is young and always full of hope for the world, but Xu Qinghe has seen the calculations in the deep palace, the conspiracies in the court, and even the deceptions of her partner, and can no longer look at everyone's kindness calmly.
For example, she subconsciously didn't want to cook the fish that Aunt Mo sent her yesterday, and now she is keeping it in a water tank in the yard as a landscape.
But it cannot be denied that she lives a very comfortable life in this small town.
Firstly, the truth was revealed and revenge was achieved; secondly, she had already arranged everything; thirdly, this small southern territory was indeed beautiful and refreshing.
When she had nothing to do, she went out for a walk and felt that every blade of grass and every tree could be painted, which made her want to pick up the paintbrush that had been abandoned for a long time.
While enjoying the scenery of Xiaonan Territory, in addition to Nanzhi and several martial servants, her fake husband Yang Ye, whom she hired at a high price, also often followed.
"My wife is pregnant, so it's always good to have a man with her when she goes out."
He said so gently.
After rescuing him, Xu Qinghe ordered people to search for the man's identity. After learning that he was just an ordinary martial artist who came to Kyoto to see the world but did not want to get into a killing trap, she relaxed her vigilance. Later, when she saw that this man was gentle and didn't talk much, she thought of asking him for help.
But in fact, in her opinion, Yang Ye's behavior was a little too attentive.
Xu Qinghe was about to refuse when he heard him say, "When entrusted with a task, one must be loyal. Since Yang Ye has already accepted the bride price, he must naturally play this role well. If the people in town see Madam wandering around alone, I'm afraid they will think I'm an unfit husband."
She didn't like him calling out the words "Madam" and "Husband" over and over again.
However, after Yang Ye repeatedly assured him that he had no other intentions and just wanted to feel more at ease with the money, Xu Qinghe pursed her lips, thought for a long time, and finally nodded.
More than a month later, the dog days of summer arrived and the weather became hotter. In addition, her belly had grown bigger, so Xu Qinghe stopped going out for a stroll and stopped staying in the studio to paint. She just had ice placed in her bedroom and lay on the couch to read.
"Madam! My sister has sent a message!"
Lin Xiaoxing rushed in, holding an envelope in his hand.
The sister she was talking about was Nanzhi. Judging from the time, she should have returned to the southern border by now.
When Xu Qinghe opened the letter, Nanzhi's first words were that he had arrived safely at the Jizhou Palace and was gathering the old people from the palace. As for the matter of supervising the construction of the hero's tomb, he would ask his wife to make arrangements.
Fortunately, Lin Xiao could read and write, so Xu Qinghe dictated a letter to Lin Xiao, who wrote a reply.
"Your handwriting is really..."
It's a little hard to put into words.
"But at least I was able to explain things clearly, which is good enough."
Afraid that what he said just now would hurt Lin Xiao's heart, Xu Qinghe quickly put away the disgust on his face and added a word of praise.
Lin Xiao was silent for a while, then said, "Madam, you have changed."
"Um?"
Lin Xiao said, "You used to not care about my thoughts. You always spoke your mind directly and scolded me without hesitation."
Unlike now, he still remembers to take care of her poor self-esteem.
“…”
Xu Qinghe has also recently discovered that his perspective on many things has changed from before, and he is much more patient and tolerant towards people and things than before.
Is this the change that happens to a woman after she becomes pregnant?
She called the court physician and midwife whom she had hired from the capital at a high price, and asked them about the matter in detail.
Several court doctors and midwives were experienced and knew the matter well. They immediately responded in a torrent of words, confirming her guess.
After writing a reply to Nanzhi and arranging all matters in the southern border, Xu Qinghe finally put his mind at ease. From then on, he only had to wait for Nanzhi's reply every ten days.
She had just sent a reply letter to Nanzhi when she received another letter from Jing'an in Beijing.
The letter said that she had originally planned to come to see her in the next few days, but Qi Sheng's master who had been traveling for many years suddenly came to Kyoto, and she had to entertain her elders, so she could only come later.
Despite this, she still asked her mother in the palace for two reliable midwives, and they would set off in the next few days.
Xu Qinghe wrote her a reply and then began to prepare for the birth of her baby with peace of mind.
However, even if life is comfortable, there are still troubles.
The dog days of summer were too hot, and people couldn't help but feel restless. Xu Qinghe didn't have much of an appetite in the summer, and now that she was pregnant, it was even harder for her to eat.
"That won't do. Madam, you don't want to eat, but the baby in your belly is still waiting. You should at least eat something for the sake of the child."
The maid who came out of the palace brought up a bowl of refreshing lotus-scented green rice porridge. The celadon lotus bowl was filled with sticky rice porridge with lotus leaf debris floating on it. It was very pleasing to the eye, but when Xu Qinghe saw it, he felt his stomach churning.
She covered her lips with a handkerchief and pushed the porridge away.
"Didn't they say that morning sickness wouldn't occur after the first three months? Why can't I eat now?"
Seeing this, the nanny had no choice but to change the bowl to another one with iced cold noodles, which were decorated with shredded green cucumbers. There was a sour smell of vinegar floating in the air. Xu Qinghe took away the handkerchief and sniffed it, and finally felt the desire to eat.
But she looked at that side, frowned, and looked up at the nanny: "I have liked spicy food since I was a child. Can you put some more chili in this?"
The beauty is not wearing any makeup, but she has a beauty like a lotus blooming in clear water.
Being looked at by such a beauty, Mammy was delighted. How could she not please her? She hurriedly asked someone to bring the food to the kitchen and add some chili.
When Madam finally picked up her chopsticks and began to eat, the nanny finally remembered to reply, "Everyone's body constitution is different, so naturally, pregnancy symptoms will vary. It's just that Madam has suffered so much, she's lost quite a bit of weight these past few days. If the Consort Chen and the Princess saw this, they would be heartbroken for a while."
Not to mention the Empress and the Princess, even she, an old nanny who had watched the Madam grow up, was having a hard time seeing her mother carrying a child all by herself. She didn't know what was going on with the Marquis of Dingnan; he had returned to the Southern Territory without even a single letter.
With the sour and spicy noodles, Xu Qinghe finally ate half full.
"I wonder if the Empress told you before you left the palace. Please keep my affairs confidential and don't tell anyone."
The nanny came back to her senses and didn't think much about it. She just responded: "Don't worry, Madam. The Queen and the Princess have repeatedly reminded us. We two old ladies are very tight-lipped and will never say anything more."
At most, I just think about it in my mind.
The days passed slowly after that. The two maids from the palace took care of Xu Qinghe's daily life, one taking care of her food, and with the help of the palace doctors and midwives she had hired earlier, Xu Qinghe now had at least seven or eight people around her to care for her. The more dedicated people there were, the more at ease she felt.
The cool mats woven by the maids themselves and the carefully prepared diet helped her gradually sleep well every night in the hot summer, and she finally regained some weight.
"Madam, Young Master Yang requests an audience."
That evening, Xu Qinghe was enjoying the cool under the apricot tree in the yard when she heard Yang Ye asking to see her.
Outside, she and Yang Ye would pretend to be a loving couple. Once they arrived at the mansion, the two of them would stay in the backyard and the front yard respectively, and never interfere with each other.
But later on, Xu Qinghe stopped wandering around town and focused on staying in the backyard to take care of her pregnancy, so Yang Ye never showed up again. Even so, he would often ask to see her under the pretext of giving her some food, drinks, and other small things.
Xu Qinghe's mind has been very confused recently. Only now did he realize that Yang Ye might have other thoughts.
She thought about it and decided to refuse the offer, and this time she didn't even confiscate the items.
But if you refuse this time, there will be another time.
In the end, Xu Qinghe had no choice but to meet him directly.
She had someone put on a tunic over her skirt, and after she was dressed, she covered her face with a veil. Only then did she meet him in front of the small door connecting the front and back yards.
Yang Yewen smiled and handed over the food box: "The weather is hot, and there are ice drinks on the street. Madam, you may want to try it."
At this time, there were two maids and Lin Xiao serving beside them. The three of them looked at each other. Without the lady's order, no one dared to take the food box.
Xu Qinghe's eyes did not fall on the food box, nor on Yang Ye, but only looked into the distance outside the courtyard wall.
"Pregnancy is a time to avoid cold food. I can't use this ice drink. Please take it back, Mr. Yang."
At this moment, she picked up her previous coldness again, and said in a cold voice: "I met with Mr. Yang today, just to make it clear to you. Although I spent a lot of money to marry you, you and I both know that it is just a transaction. Please don't accept it..."
"What if this matter is more than just a transaction for Yang?"
Yang Ye suddenly interrupted her loudly.
【Author’s words】
Second update~Thanks again for the vote~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
